


Rumor Has It

by Raven_Rose22



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Blood and Gore, Drug Use, Drugs, Explicit Language, Gen, Good Sister Allison Hargreeves, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, Graphic Description, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus and Ben get high, M/M, Multi, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Rumors, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-01-07 02:28:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18401297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Rose22/pseuds/Raven_Rose22
Summary: Plot bunny that would not leave me alone. Why doesn't Klaus remember his first time? also inspired by a tumblr post mentioning Ben and Klaus getting high for the first time. First ever fic so be kind please.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time publishing a story, please leave feedback! this story will be two chapters long (at least) with most of the violence happening in the later chapters. If you feel like you will be triggered in any way, the first few chapters could be read as their own fic. The drug use experience is based on articles I've read so any inaccuracies are purely my own. Here goes nothing! Enjoy!  
> Va Por Ti Tita, te amo y te extrañare todos los dias.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time publishing a story, please leave feedback! this story will be two chapters long (at least) with most of the violence happening in later chapters. If you feel like you will be triggered in any way, the first few chapters could be read as their own fic. The drug use experience is based on articles I've read so any inaccuracies are purely my own. here goes nothing! enjoy!  
> Va Por Ti Tita, te amo y te extrañare todos los dias.

Rumor Has It

It wasn’t often that the umbrella academy liked using their abilities.

Well no, five seemed eager to become more skilled and Luther and Diego liked showing off to prove who was best, though Klaus always thought they should just pull them out on the table and measure. Ben could measure, as he was the least likely to be biased by anything other than the truth. When he told Ben his plan, the other had just rolled his eyes at Klaus and gone back to reading his book. 

“What? It’s a good plan Ben, that way we can all have peace of mind” Klaus smiled.

“What part of me measuring two of my brother’s genitals equals peace in your mind?” Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.

Five had taken that moment to appear in front of his brothers, “never mind, don’t want to know” he disappeared with a flash of blue.  
Klaus bit his lip to stop from bursting out in laughter, his father was right down the hall after all, and Klaus did not want another afternoon in the mausoleum. 

Allison liked her abilities, as long as she was not using them against her family. As part of her training, she had been forced to rumor her siblings as her father watched on and took notes.  
As she passed by the library, she glanced at Ben and Klaus, the latter quickly pulling her into a hug and twirling with her before sending her back on her way. 

“You know, sometimes I think you and I are the unfortunate ones Benny dear” Klaus sighed as he plopped on the couch, Ben pulling his legs instinctively without ever looking up from his book. He had long ago learned how to multitask with Klaus in the room. Though any other person would be discouraged by the apparent lack of attention, Klaus knew Ben was always listening. 

“How so?” Ben flipped the page.

“Our so called abilities, the ones that make us a part of the mighty Umbrella Academy, well they suck. I would love to at least be able to turn it off, even for a little bit. There’s an angry old woman who has been nagging me for the past two days and I really would like to be able to at least nap without her shrieking at me about my eyeliner or the fact that I have a tattoo. As if we even had a choice about that!” 

Ben put down the book and glanced at Klaus, who was leaning back on the couch, eyes closed and hands over his ears. He did look to be tired; Ben doubted the dark circles under his eyes were simply smudged eyeliner. He set the book on the table and nudged his brother.

“You wanna go up to the roof for a bit? Maybe the fresh air will do you some good.”

Klaus sighed a bit and smiled, “always know what to say Benny Boy” he threw himself at his brother and they both rolled off the couch and giggling made their way to the roof.  
From up there Klaus could see the mausoleum where he would be ‘training’ later tonight and he shivered, looking away and focusing instead on a group of teenagers huddled together in front of the cemetery gates. He often wondered what it would be like to live outside of the academy. He knew he could never run away from the literal ghosts in his present, but maybe he could tolerate it if he wasn’t under his father’s thumb. 

“Hey Ben, do you ever think about running away?”  
Ben turned to look at him then followed his gaze to the teenagers. “I don’t know if it would be any different than here. Neither of us can just stop our powers. We’d still be freaks.” He said sadly.

“But maybe if we leave, we could be freaks together, birds of a feather and yada yada” Klaus said with a wave of his hand.

“Yeah, maybe. Ugh what the hell is that smell?” Ben frowned.

“Wasn’t me” Klaus shrugged, but then added, “Kinda smells like a skunk got run over”

“I don’t think that’s what it is” Ben pointed at the group of teenagers; they seemed to be passing a cigarette around and giggling. Their father had told them about drugs and how people liked to ‘poison themselves’ with them. Now that Klaus saw it firsthand, it didn’t look so bad; none of them seemed to be in any sort of discomfort, on the contrary, they seemed happy and carefree. 

“huh” Klaus exhaled, “not quite the deadly poison the old man said it was”

“Don’t even think about it Klaus” Ben warned. Knowing his brother was doing just that, but before Klaus could do something stupid like jump off the roof and join the group, a police siren was heard. They both saw the group of teens jump. One of them leaned down and put something behind one of the graves and they all scattered away before the cops could catch sight of them. Klaus could have sworn one of the teenagers saw him and Ben, but couldn’t be sure. 

“Number four, Number six” they heard their father cry out from inside the house. “We have a mission, and your assigned play time was over a minute and a half ago.”

“Heaven forbid we get more than 30 minutes to ourselves” Klaus muttered under his breath, but both he and Ben made their way into the house. 

The mission ended up being a robbery in a convenience store. Two gunmen were holding some hostages including the store clerk and demanding money. Everything would have gone fine, except Klaus didn’t notice the ‘wet floor’ sign and slipped which made Diego miss his shot. Though no one was hurt and the two gunmen were taken away by the police, Klaus knew something bad was coming his way as he saw his father’s judgmental eyes. 

“Klaus you clumsy idiot, you made Diego miss” Five scolded him when they made their way into the car.

“It wasn’t his fault Five, I was watching from outside and the floor was wet.” Vanya tried to stand up for Klaus. 

“Quiet Number Seven, Number Four needs to take care to look better at his surroundings. I shall deal with you when we return to the academy Number Four.” His father’s words made Klaus look down and admire the ground under his feet. So much for no mausoleum tonight.

He was given a lengthy lecture about being a disappointment and how useless he would be to the team if he didn’t even make a good lookout. Then his father set his punishment, five hours in the mausoleum. One for each victim who could have been injured due to his incompetence. His father informed him he was being lenient, as he did not count any of the members of the academy in that number. Considering the mission had taken up most of the evening, that meant spending most of the night in his waking nightmare. Another night without any decent rest.  
He was let out of the mausoleum at 3 in the morning, Pogo being sent to fetch him as his father had already gone to bed. It was not an uncommon thing for Klaus, and he was at least relieved that his father hadn’t simply decided to let him spend all night in there. 

“Are you alright Master Klaus?” Pogo’s warm eyes looked him over, taking in his dirty uniform, the tear tracks down his face, and the dark circles under his eyes.

“Yeah, ‘m fine” Klaus whispered, having screamed his voice away for the past hours. The ghosts seemed angrier at nighttime, though perhaps it was just easier to get distracted by other things during the day. 

“Let’s get you to bed, training will be early tomorrow” Pogo led the way back to the house.

As they passed by all the graves, Klaus saw the one the one guy had hid something behind, pretending to tie his shoe, he crouched down and saw a small plastic bag. He quickly picked it up and pocketed it before Pogo could turn around. He’d look at the contents once he got some rest, but that would depend on if the ghosts were feeling lenient that is.

They were not.

The next day went about as well as Klaus expected, which is to say not at all. He felt raw, and not just because of the lack of sleep and the screaming. Mom saw he was feeling down and made him some tea with honey for his throat which made him feel a bit better. He smiled at her as he slowly sipped it, feeling his throat and chest warm up.  
Their father was going to some meeting in the afternoon so the kids were allowed to have some free time. He left them a list of things to do of course, but Pogo and mom were left in charge of making sure the kids did in fact complete all the tasks. And well, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

As soon as dinner was over, Klaus ran to his room, eager to look at the contents of the bag. He pulled the small bag out from under his mattress and pulled out a couple of joints and a lighter. There also appeared to be some pills inside but he paid those no mind. He just wanted to experience the carefreeness he had seen in the group of teenagers, and they didn’t seem to have taken pills. He put all of the items back into the bag and into his pocket, excited to find Ben. He found him in his room playing chess with five. 

“Checkmate” Ben said with a grin, Five just stared at the board for a few seconds before vanishing. 

“Pfff, and they say I’m a sore loser” Klaus made his way to Bens bed. 

“You are a sore loser, remember the UNO incident?” Ben asked leaning back into his pillow.

“Hey at least I didn’t set the cards on fire; that was Luther. He self-proclaimed himself as the one who would always win, with his ‘it’s named after me, I’m obviously gonna be great at it and be an asshat when I lose’”.

“I don’t think he said that last part, but fair point”

Klaus sat down on the bed by Ben’s side and poked him. “Wanna see something awesome?” he bounced on the bed enthusiastically. Before Ben could answer, he pulled the contents out of his pocket. 

“Where the hell did you get this?! Dad’s gonna kill you.” Ben asked in a rushed whisper, glancing at the open door as if expecting his father to suddenly manifest.

“Remember the group we saw yesterday? Well they didn’t hide their stash very well. I found it last night as I was coming back.”

“And you just grabbed it? Why?” Ben shot up to see the things inside Klaus’ hand better.

He shrugged, “I want to see what it’s like, to be so carefree. Remember two years ago when I broke my jaw?”

Ben nodded.

“Those first few weeks, when mom gave me the strong pain meds, I couldn’t see any ghosts. It’s like my abilities were gone. At first I didn’t notice, both because of the pain and because I was so out of it. But once the pain went away, I expected to be bombarded by ghosts. They usually like to be loudest when I am injured. But nothing. There was nothing, no one. I was ordinary.” He finished like it was the greatest thing one could be. 

“Okay, so you want to see if a joint makes any difference?” This is why Klaus liked Ben the best, he just got him.

“Exacatically!” Klaus threw his arms around Ben. “And you my brother, are my chosen companion for the ride.” He winked and pulled Ben to his feet. “To the roof!”

They went up to the roof, not wanting to smoke inside the house as their father was bound to notice the smell. Hell, not even mom or Pogo would be lenient in the matter. 

“Okay, you ready?” Klaus asked as they both settled in. “I’ve researched some stuff about cannabis and we may get dizzy, or may not even feel it the first time we do this. I guess it’s a good thing we have two!”

“If it makes us dizzy, should we even be on the roof?” Ben asked concerned. 

“We’ll start off slow, and if we do feel bad, we can get Luther to help us get down, blame it on an inner ear infection or something.” Klaus shrugs.

“Inner ear infection?”

“What? Balance is affected by inner ear infections, trust me.”

Klaus pulls out the lighter and one of the joints, he holds each one in each hand offering both to Ben. Ben picks up the lighter.

“Pff, whimp” Klaus laughs. “Fine, I’ll show you how it’s done”. He puts the joint in his mouth and leans in as Ben flicks the lighter. It catches and he takes a big huff. Then he almost coughs out a lung. Ben stares at him intently, wondering how he can help, but Klaus passes him the joint instead. He has to light it again before he can get a huff, then he too is coughing a lung out. As they both catch their breath, they stare out into the street. Ben hopes they’re not drawing attention to themselves. Neither of them notice the pair of eyes looking at them from the cemetery gate. 

“Oh my god” Klaus says after a few minutes, “they’re going quiet. Ben, I can hear my own thoughts! I can hear traffic and birds!” He smiles so brightly and wide, it’s like his face is going to split. “How are you feeling?”

Ben felt heavy, it’s like his limbs tripled in weight and his eyes had trouble focusing. “Can you stop swaying back and forth? You’re making me dizzy.” 

“Ben, I’m not moving”

“Oh, then I’m dizzy. I feel great, but like I can’t get up. Like ever.” 

Klaus scooted over so that is legs were behind Ben, “Here, use my lap as a pillow”. Not needing to be told twice, Ben lays down, looking up at the clouds and they spun slightly before his eyes. They shared the rest of the joint and Klaus also lays down, pillowing his head behind crossed arms. They stayed up there watching the sun set and sharing stories. Eventually both get very sleepy and decide to call it a night. Klaus, not feeling dizzy, helps Ben down back into the house. As they pass their siblings in the living room, Allison asks, “Where were you guys, we wanted you to watch a movie with us.”

“We were on the roof” Ben says calm as ever.

“Do you know where that weird smell was coming from?” asks Vanya, “I walked past one of the windows and it smelled awful out there.”

“Yeah,” answers Klaus quickly, “it seems poor Pepe le pew met his maker on the road outside.” He shakes his head sadly. “Well were off to bed, night all”

“Night” says Ben, still leaning on Klaus, but making it seem like one of their casual side hugs.

“Night” the rest of their siblings say. 

Once they reached Ben’s room, Klaus puts him to bed. “Well now we know we need to be further away from the house next time” Ben says though a yawn.

Klaus raises his eyebrow, “Next time?”

“Obviously, you had two joints, you think I’m gonna let you have all the fun?”

“Like I said before, my favorite. Goodnight Ben, sweet dreams” Klaus says with a final hug to his brother.

“Night Klaus, sleep tight, and don’t let the ghosties bite. Or you know, whatever” Ben mostly mumbles into his pillow.

That night, Klaus sleeps like an angel, and for once not an angel of death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it dawned on me that Five would have already left the academy but for the sake of my story, hes still around. I also realized that this story would have been extremely rushed if I tried to fit it into two chapters, so I'll go with the flow and see how many it takes! thank you everyone who has read and left Kudos! I was terrified of posting anything and now I feel encouraged. Thanks so much!!

Chapter 2

The next morning, Klaus woke up feeling more rested than he had for months, if not years. He was so happy; he didn’t even mind the small ghost of a young girl shrieking at him to pay attention to her. 

The ghosts were all back and in full force, but he found himself not minding them so much. It was amazing what a good night’s sleep could do for him.

Not even being used for target practice for Diego got rid of the calm in his spirit. As their father watched, he had Diego stand on one end of the room while his siblings ducked and tried to not get hit by their brother. It hadn’t been so bad when they had used stress balls, but as Diego got better and better; their father changed his weapons of choice. Now, warm up was with golf balls, and those suckers hurt when they got you in the head, or on your throat, or anywhere else Diego wanted to hit. It didn’t matter that his ability was to never miss; their father still shook his head at the rest of the siblings as they nursed red marks all over their bodies which would become bruises as the day went on.

“Well done Number Two, the rest of you, you need to improve your reflexes if you expect to survive on missions.” He turned after looking down his nose at them, “Clean yourselves up before lunch.”

Diego grimaced at the rest of them muttering a, “Ss-sorry” before turning to head to his room.

They all made their way to their rooms, Vanya handing all of them cold wet cloths to wipe away whatever blood got on them, and to put over to avoid swelling. Klaus gave her a wink and kissed her forehead as he took it from her hands. He had accidentally smeared a bit of blood on her forehead and quickly wiped it away. Vanya gave him a shy smile, Klaus was kind to her, and didn’t mind that she was ordinary. She turned on her heels and walked to her room as well, hoping to practice that last measure a few more times before lunch.

Klaus headed to his room, noticing that Ben was following him. Ben had gotten a golf ball to the nose and was wiping some of the blood off while grimacing a little. He himself had gotten hit on the mouth and thankfully just cut his lip. He was scared he had broken a tooth, but no, just got a split lip. 

Ben threw the dirty towel into Klaus’ hamper before face planting onto his bed.

“Man, if this is what it’s like now, I don’t want to know what the old man will give Diego next time.” Klaus said as he poked his tooth, making sure it was still in one piece. 

Ben groaned into the bed, “Hopefully he can come up with a few things before going for the pointy things.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you, daddy dearest will probably just use me by the time knives come out. Wouldn’t want to harm any of the ‘useful’ members of his little league.” Klaus plopped onto his floor.

“Not funny Klaus”

“Wasn’t trying to be”

The both shared a companionable silence, each lost in their own little worlds. Vanya’s music making its way through the rooms like a gentle blanket over all of them. Klaus smiled, she was getting better and better. Ben glanced at Klaus, who was looking more relaxed, if a bit bloodied.

“So, how did they treat you last night?” He cautiously asked, not needing to tell Klaus who ‘they’ were.

“Oh, marvelously!” Klaus answered with a smile, “I got a greats night rest, with no company. No one bothered me until early this morning.”

Ben frowned, “So they’re already back?”

Klaus only nodded, not even opening his eyes. He pointed to the left, “Got two Russians yelling at me over here” to the right, “my lovely wakeup call has been hanging out since this morning,” and then behind his head, “and there’s like 4 or 5 more just hanging around in that general space, but they’re being quiet.”

Ben glanced at the room as Klaus pointed, as if trying to see what his brother was describing. He didn’t know how Klaus did it. Went through life seeming to be carefree, when in reality he was hardly ever left alone. At least with that Ben could relate. He felt something shift angrily under his ribs, he had training this evening, and the Horror seemed anxious to be let out. Then he realized something.

“Klaus!” Klaus shot up into a sitting position and stared at Ben.

“What? What did I do?”

Ben shook his head, “I slept calmly last night. I went to sleep and woke up in the morning.”

Klaus blinked at his brother, then as realization struck, a large smile appeared on his face. “Did we get the Horror high??”

“I think so? I did feel it being anxious when we first started, but then as my limbs got heavier and I got more dizzy, it just…. Stopped?”

Klaus rolled over next to his bed and reached under his mattress again. He pulled out the bag with the remaining joint and lighter as well as the bag of pills. He got to his feet and put the items on the bed, sitting down next to Ben. 

“What do you think the pills are?” Ben asked picking the bag up and holding it up to the light. There were about 25 pills in a small plastic bag.

Klaus shrugged, “No idea”

Ben frowned as he set the bag down onto the bed. “Can we both agree they’re probably not aspirin?”

“Heh, yeah I think that’s safe to say”

Ben thought about the best way to tell Klaus to not trust or try them. He didn’t want to push Klaus, knowing he was prone to rash decisions when he got upset. However before he could start to make his case, Klaus picked up all the items. Nodding to himself, he put the joint and the lighter back underneath his mattress and the bag of pills into his pocket.

“Klaus?” Ben asked, not sure what his brother was thinking.

Bright green eyes met his and Ben could see when he reached his decision. He nodded again and said, “Come on”

“Where?”

“As adventurous and intrigued as I am about the possible side effects of these pills,” he said patting his pocket “I’m not dumb enough to trust some asshole that got spooked by the sound of a police siren.”

Ben breathed a sigh of relief. He and Klaus glanced out into the hallway before exiting the room. It was empty. They made their way to the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

“Sink, bathtub, or toilet?” Klaus asked as he glanced at each of the options.

“Toilet I think, but just drop the pills, don’t try to flush the whole bag”

Klaus nodded, he glanced back to the door, making sure no one was coming before pulling the bag out of his pocket. He opened the bag and walked to the toilet before hesitating. He looked at the bag in his hand then glanced up to the corner of the bathroom, where no doubt a ghost or ten were calling out to him.

Ben placed a hand on top of Klaus’ arm. “You can’t be sure these would even help you. For all you know, they could be compressed rat poison.”

Klaus looked back to the bag, then Ben’s hand and nodded. But he still made no move. 

“I can’t do it, I want to, I know I should, but I can’t” his voice broke a bit as he glanced at Ben’s face, asking his brother for help. He knew he could count on Ben to not think of him as weak.

“Can I help you?” Ben asked tightening his hand on Klaus’ arm in a comforting squeeze. 

“Please” The broken whisper left Klaus’ mouth and his eyes got glassy with tears. His eyes never left his brothers.

“Okay” Ben smiled at Klaus reassuringly. He moved slowly, he knew how much it took out of Klaus to show vulnerability, and he was trusting Ben. He broke eye contact as he reached for Klaus’s hand. He didn’t take the bag himself, but wrapped it over Klaus’. He looked at his brother’s face again and waited for Klaus to look at him. He nodded and with a deep breath, they both turned the bag over and saw all the pills plop into the water. Klaus only stared at the water, as Ben reached over to flush. The both stared at the toilet for a bit then Klaus turned to his brother and threw his arms around him.

“Thank you” He whispered, a few tears made their way down his face, and Ben held on as he collected himself. His brother was taller, but he was also so skinny, Ben was able to comfortably hug him. After a bit they both pulled apart. Klaus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, gathering himself and pulling the carefree mask back over his face. Ben wanted to tell him there was no need to pretend when 

Luther knocked on the door. They both turned to stare at the door.

“Klaus come on, I gotta pee”

By the time Ben turned back to Klaus, there was no evidence of tears, and the mask was firmly back into place. He sighed inwardly.

Klaus smiled and threw an arm around Ben as he unlocked the door.

“We live in a freaking mansion, Luther, you could use another one.”

“I wanna use this one.” Luther pulled himself to his full height then frowned, “Why were both of you in there?”

Ben opened his mouth to come up with some excuse and Klaus only raised an eyebrow and raised an eyebrow.

Five suddenly appeared in the bathroom, “You don’t want to know, also dibs on the bathroom” he said and slammed the door in Luther’s face. 

“Five, you cheating little jerk” Luther said as he slammed his fist on the door.

As he grumbled and pounded at the door, Klaus and Ben made their way back to Klaus’ room.

Just as they reached the door they saw Luther hobble away, natures call clearly having won over his desire to strangle Five.

Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother’s antics, wondering how they would ever be able to get along. 

Ben glanced around the room, his eyes landing on a bottle of nail polish on Klaus’ bedside. He didn’t really mind having his nails painted, and he knew that Klaus loved painting them. He walked over and picked it up, turning around and holding it up to Klaus.

“I’m fine, no need to coddle me” Klaus said, though Ben could see he was still doubting whether what they just did was the right choice.

“Who’s coddling?” Ben asked looking around the room, “I’m just saying I could use a fresh coat of paint.”

Klaus smiled at his brother. They both knew what he was doing. They both knew that Klaus needed to relax a bit. Finally Klaus smiled.

“This is why you’re my favorite”

At lunch neither of them minded the glares that their father sent them as he noticed both boys wearing bright pink nail polish. 

“Is that my nail polish?” Allison asked as she followed her father’s gaze. 

Both boys shrugged and continued eating. They met each other’s gaze and smiled. It looked way better on them than on Allison anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to give Ben some love in this chapter. this is not meant to be read as Klaus and Ben slash, but if that floats your boat, who am I to sink it?  
> thank you everyone who has read and left kudos! Please keep it up, its very easy to write when one feels motivated =D. next chapter is where it will begin to get intense. this chapter just flew out of my fingers when I sat down to write!

Chapter 3

The rest of the day went much as expected. That afternoon Ben had training with their father and the rest of the children had tutoring with Pogo and Grace. Though Klaus often had a hard time sitting still, he enjoyed their lessons. He was fairly good in all subjects, and often got better marks than Luther, something which brought great pleasure to Klaus as it greatly annoyed Luther. Only Five and Ben got better marks than he did, something which didn’t surprise him in the least. 

As Klaus finished his last calculus assignment, only ten minutes after Five finished his, he jumped up and winked at Luther. The other glared at him over the piles of crumbled up paper all around his work station. Pogo looked it over with an unreadable expression, “Very good Master Klaus, you may retire now.”

Klaus gave Pogo a grin and hoped over to give Vanya and Allison a quick hug before hoping happily away from the library. He was glad he had finished his work before Ben’s training. None of them really knew exactly how each one of their training was conducted, but based on his own experience, Klaus assumed it was not something pleasant. He had seen Ben come back after training covered in blood and trembling. He had found that drawing a bath helped him before, so that’s where he headed. Ben’s training was meant to be over in about 15 minutes.

Klaus went into his room and pulled out some bubble bath solution from under his bed. He had gotten it from Mom as a get well soon present after a mission gone wrong a few months ago. He only used it for special occasions himself, but he never minded sharing with his siblings if it brought them some comfort.  
He went into the bathroom and started to fill the bathtub with hot water knowing it would help with the shivers and soreness. As the tub filled, he poured some of the bubble bath, watching as it foamed up. The lovely scent of lavender filled the room, he stirred it more with his hand in order to get even more bubbles. The water was a bit too hot to be fully comfortable, but he by the time Ben got there, it would be a good temperature. He wondered if he should bring some candles into the room to make it even more comfortable, but thought better of it, Ben would be pretty out of it, better keep it simple. 

After a few minutes, he heard the elevator ding.

“You did very well Number Six. Though you still need to work on your accuracy and efficiency” their father’s voice was nonchalant as it usually was after training. As if he were discussing how the weather looked outside. “Now clean yourself up before dinner” the dismissal was clear.

Klaus made his way towards the staircase that led to their rooms and winced when he caught sight of his brother. He was drenched in blood and some other particles Klaus didn’t want to really know what they were. In that moment, Ben looked more like one of his usual ‘companions’ than a living person. Klaus shook the though from his head and reached the staircase as Ben reached the bottom.

“Hey Benny, you okay?” He asked reaching a hand to his brother. Ben looked at the hand before him and followed it up to Klaus’ face. The vacant eyes slowly went away as he recognized his brother. Klaus always tried to be there after Ben’s training, knowing his brother needed some comfort after being forced to pull the Horror forward. Ben shuddered and pulled his brother into a hug. Klaus didn’t mind that he was getting covered in blood and whatever else was on his brother, pulling as much comfort from the hug as his brother did. Ben was shivering and crying into his shoulder, but he was solid.  
Ghosts were not solid. His brother was alive and not a ghost.

Ben slowly stopped crying and pulled himself together, Klaus didn’t mind, he would gladly be there for his brother for any amount of time he needed. Ben pulled away from the hug and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

“Sorry” He said as he looked at Klaus. Klaus wasn’t sure if he was apologizing for the tears or the blood, but the response was the same either way. “No worries bro, come on” Klaus put an arm around his brother’s shoulder and pulled him into the bathroom.

Ben looked at the waiting bath and turned to Klaus, a small smile on his lips. “Thank you Klaus”.

“Shout if you need anything” Klaus went over to the sink to wet a towel so he could wipe himself off, then turned and closed the door behind him. He went back into his room and changed out of the bloody uniform and into a clean one. He wiped away any blood on him with a practiced ease. Having given enough time for his brother to get into the tub, he silently knocked as he went inside. 

Ben was lying comfortably under a mountain of bubbles. His eyes were closed as he let the warmth relax his shivering body. Klaus quickly picked up and threw all the bloody clothes into a hamper, out of sight, out of mind. Or you know at least not in your face. The water had turned pink from the blood, but Ben didn’t seem to notice or care. 

“Do you ever wonder how ACME stayed in business?” Klaus said as he sat down on top of one of the toilets.

“Huh?”

“I mean Wile E. Coyote used so many of their products, and based on his experience, they’re hardly a reliable company” Klaus said.

Ben smiled as Klaus went on a rant about the unreliability of their products and how their complaint services were probably always busy. He knew Klaus was doing this to both distract him and to keep him from falling asleep and drowning himself in the tub. He usually found some topic or other to keep up mindless chatter. Sometimes it was the powerpuff girls clearly lacking sense of fashion, who would win if they fought the teen titans, how badly superman would kick Luther’s ass, or some other senseless topic. For all his brother did and said, he was a huge nerd. That’s why Ben liked him so much. He was an awesome brother.

“..and how did he even get money to buy all of the crappy products anyway? Do they ever say what he does for a living? That’s just another example of a company taking advantage of the working man, or you know coyote…” 

Ben smiled once again, “Hey Klaus,”

“Yeah?”

He wanted to tell his brother thank you, tell him he was awesome, and tell him he didn’t know how he could get through the tough times without him.

“You think if he switched brands he would have succeeded?” he said instead, knowing his brother would be able to read between the lines.

Klaus looked away for a second, seemingly thinking about it, “Well see now that’s interesting because…”

They discussed the logistics of this other brand until the water turned cold. Klaus left so his brother could actually bathe after they had established the company slogan of the main competition for ACME. They had thrown ‘We do it better’ out there, but that sounded too much like something Luther would say, so that was thrown out the window. ‘We get it done’ sounded a tad too aggressive and like a weird mixture of Diego and Five. They had finally agreed on, ‘We make ACME look like a joke’ and although Ben pointed out they couldn’t use their competitor’s name in the company slogan, Klaus pointed out that it was for a cartoon company, so they both agreed.

Dinner was dinner, Mom had cooked them a delicious meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, one of Ben’s favorites. He looked over as Mom put his plate in front of him; she patted the top of his head,  
“Eat up before it gets cold now” 

Ben wondered if Mom really had feelings sometimes. She sometimes did things, small touches of affection, that shouldn’t be possible for a robot. He was also positive that his father was unable to show any sign of love, the man saw it as weakness. So he could not have programed it into her. He wasn’t sure who to thank, for that side of mom, but was glad it was there. 

After dinner, Klaus and Ben relaxed, this time in Ben’s room. Klaus pulled out the chess board and held it up. Ben knew Klaus wasn’t quite as fond of the game, not that he wasn’t good at it, but knew how much Ben liked it. They played a couple of games, each winning one, before Ben took some pity on his brother and pulled out LIFE. 

They played once, Ben coming out as the winner, though he suspected Klaus had let him win. Ben had been talking less and less and it was clear he was worn out. They put the game away and Ben climbed into his bed. The only good thing that came with training was that the Horror became slightly subdued. It had gotten some of its energy out and now only slightly stirred under his skin. He would be able to sleep slightly more peacefully tonight.

“Night Ben” Klaus said giving his brother a quick hug.

“Night Klaus, hey we didn’t use the second one” Ben said, a little guilty that his comfort took priority before his brother’s.

“Meh, there’s always tomorrow brother dearest.” Klaus winked, “now you rest up you hear.”

“Yeah, you too” Ben said, not really convinced.

“Will try”

Klaus made his way to his room; all his other siblings seemed to be sleeping already. He ignored the old man next to the staircase shouting at him in some language he didn’t have the energy to try to decipher. As he went into his room, he saw he had several uninvited guests making themselves known. Looked like he was in for a rough night. At least he had been able to make his brother’s day a bit better, he took comfort in that. Tomorrow he could smoke that joint and hopefully get some peaceful sleep. He slipped into his bed and tried to ignore all the voices around him, shouting, reaching, demanding, begging. 

He heard his father make his way down the staircase and was glad he had gotten to his room when he did. Nothing good came out of being caught after hours in the hallway. Klaus had always been a light sleeper, even without the nightmares and voices that kept him up at night. He had known his father came into their bedrooms to place sensors on their temples. He wondered what the old man got from that information. What forms of conclusions he came up with based on brainwaves. As always he pretended he was asleep when his father entered his room. 

The touch would have been almost a caress, if there hadn’t been a sensor in his fingers. His father slipped back out his door and he heard Diego’s door give a small squeak as it opened. It was just another strange thing that happened inside the umbrella academy. Mom would remove the sensors early in the morning just before she woke them up for breakfast. He wondered if tomorrow they would get waffles, he loved waffles. He tried to focus on waffles and what toppings he would put on top, distracting himself so he could fall asleep.  
Butter, maple syrup, honey, strawberries, blueberries, marshmallows, peanut butter. He pictured stacks and stacks of waffles, the voices around him seeming to become softer and softer. He fell asleep, picturing himself eating all of the waffles with all the combination of flavors, a small smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added some more warnings in the tags for this fic. this chapter contains homophobic language and violence as well as non descriptive non-con sex. also the two names I chose for the two perps were taken from a list of 'top douche names', Sorry if that's also your name, I just got it from there. this chapter was very hard for me to write, so I would appreciate any feedback you could give me.  
> Also I do not agree with not getting help after traumatic events happen, if you need help, please get it, there are many many qualified people who are more than willing to help out! Please get help if you need it. you can even text now if you can't/ don't want to talk! Text CONNECT to 741741 to chat with a trained Crisis Counselor 24/7. And finally thank you to everyone who has read and left kudos so far!

Chapter 4

The next morning breakfast was sadly not waffles, but eggs and bacon. Klaus should have known, Mom liked to give them protein whenever they all had endurance training. After breakfast, they all gathered in the roof to warm up. They were all glad that they weren’t expected to go straight to running; their father had learned to wait at least half an hour after the fourth messy clean up. Instead, they paired off and worked on stretching and flexibility. 

Klaus saw Vanya stretching by herself and walked over, “Hey sis, give me a hand here?”

Her smile was as bright as her eyes as she was included in the stretching. Endurance training was one of the only activities that Vanya was encouraged to join in with her siblings. As their father had, oh so kindly pointed out, “Number Seven can make herself useful in an emergency situation, either to get help, or at least to not slow the rest of the academy down”.  
Still Vanya was glad to be with her siblings instead of making notes in a clipboard or blowing a whistle as she watched the rest of them.

After warm-up, they all went to the staircase; they gathered together, waiting for their father’s signal to run to the bottom and again to the top. Five used his powers, which their father always approved, Luther was freaking unstoppable, and Diego could hold his breath for so long, he could avoid the stress of breathing to get ahead. The other three could not use their skills in this instance. Allison had rumored all of them to let her win once, and while she got praise for that one time, her father told her she was not allowed to use that rumor anymore. She always came in fourth no matter what, her siblings finding their legs suddenly heavier or getting a mysterious cramp whenever they tried to pass her.  
Klaus and Ben were not too competitive with each other; each feeling it would be a useless waste of energy. They kept up pace of course, there were consequences if they didn’t, but didn’t actively sabotage each other or Vanya. 

After running up and down that staircase more times than Klaus cared to count, they were allowed a 10 minute break to catch their breath and drink some water. Klaus collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, waiting for his heart to either hurry up and jump out of his chest or slow down. After a bit it decided to remain inside his chest. He felt someone lightly kick his side and a water bottle was dropped into his stomach. 

“Hydrate” said Ben, also dropping to the floor but choosing to sit instead of lay down. 

“You think if I don’t hydrate and die, the old man will let me skip hand to hand?” Klaus asked hopefully.

“Doubt it” Ben said.

“He’d just bring you back to life, or maybe use you as a target or punching bag” Five said at the same time. 

At that, Klaus giggled, “and that’s different how exactly?”

Five looked at him for a second before nodding and shrugging, “Fair point”.

The rest of training went as expected, painfully and with little success on Klaus’ part. He was not great at the hand to hand, he could hold his own against any bad guy sure, but his brothers didn’t qualify as that in his mind, well except for Ben, but even Ben kicked his ass when they fought. And that’s not even calling the Horror forth.

As usual, daddy dearest wasn’t pleased with Klaus’ performance, “If you don’t improve Number Four, you will become a liability to the rest of the academy. Perhaps you and Number Six need to have additional hand to hand combat for the next few months.” It was phrased like a question, but both of them knew it was a decree.  
Lunch went by without a hitch, everyone silently eating while trying not to wince when they moved their sore bodies. After lunch, they headed off to their evening tutoring. Today, they went over history and science. After being assigned a paper to write about the Age of Imperialism, they all went to different parts of the library to get to work. Or at least they tried to get to work. One by one they all fell asleep; slumped into the book or notebook they were working on. Pogo took mercy on them and let them sleep; only waking them up when it was time for dinner. 

They were startled to be woken up for an early dinner. Their father had apparently been researching and may have found another member to add to the academy. There had been whispers around town of a young girl who could read minds on the other side of town, and he was very intrigued at the possibility of adding a telepath to their ranks. He had researched and found she was also born the same day as the rest of the academy. He had found out where the girl lived and was planning to visit her. Apparently her mother had not survived the birth and she was at an orphanage across town. He would head out to see her after dinner.

As far as all of them were concerned, that meant great news; they had an evening to themselves. The siblings gathered together to have a movie marathon, mom making all the snacks. Klaus and Ben got through half of the first movie before retreating back downstairs.

“How far away is far away enough?” Klaus asked as he reached for the remaining joint and the lighter.

“At least across the street?”

“C-cemetery?” Klaus couldn’t help the stutter from coming out, maybe he had been hanging out too much with Diego. 

“We don’t have to go there, I know you hate it there” Ben quickly said, Klaus had told him, in as least detail as he could, about the mausoleum.

“No, no it should be okay, they vanished last time right? It may be good to see how far this goes” Klaus held up the joint then shoved it in his pocket. He threw the lighter to his brother who pocketed it also. 

They made their way to the roof, then to the side of the building to find the fire escape, making their way through the alleyway and into the street. They didn’t think the alleyway would be a smart choice, too many places for people to hide. They didn’t want to be caught unawares. As they went through the front gate, Klaus couldn’t help a shiver from running up his back, though this time he was making his way into the place voluntarily, there were too may bad memories surrounding it. There were also many many souls not in peace in that place.  
Ben noticed Klaus’ discomfort and led him to a place with grass, far away from any mausoleum. He wasn’t sure which one Klaus ‘trained’ in, but far away from any was probably a safe bet, not that Klaus could ever be left alone without help. They went far into the cemetery, where there wouldn’t be any people who could spot them easily. It would be no good for anyone if they ended up getting arrested.  
Ben sat down, using a gravestone as a backrest; he waited for a few seconds, expecting Klaus to join him. Klaus was looking around nervously, his eyes shifting over what appeared to be many forms, his arms crossed. Ben was sure he was close to leaving bruises in his arms, if the grip on his fingers was anything to go by. He reached over and pulled at Klaus’ elbow. Klaus jumped a bit at the touch, but shook his head and joined his brother on the ground.

Since Klaus seemed to be distracted, Ben took the initiative; he pulled the lighter from his pocket and held it up to his brother. This seemed to remind Klaus of the reason they were here. He pulled the joint from his pocket and held it up to his lips. Ben held the lighter as Klaus lit it and took a big hit. Klaus held his breath and closed his eyes, only letting the air out when his lungs started to hurt. He coughed out and passed the joint to Ben, not bothering to open his eyes. Ben copied his brother’s actions and also held his breath, also coughing as he released it.

They could feel the joint working, Klaus as the voices seemed to soften and Ben as the world began to spin a bit. They were both so focused on their immediate surroundings; they did not notice the two figures making their way across the cemetery and closer and closer to them.

“Well, well, well, what have we got here Bryce” a voice rang out startling both brothers from their relaxed environment. 

“It looks like a couple of twinks Trey. And look what they’ve got here.” A second voice answered. 

Ben struggled to have the world be right side up, but couldn’t do much more than blink as the lighter was wrenched from his hand.

“Isn’t this your dad’s old lighter?” Klaus saw as one of them threw it to the other and they caught it.

“Why yes it is, and it seems that this” He plucked the joint from Klaus’ hand, “is also mine.”

Klaus got to his feet, trying to help Ben get to his.

“Look guys, this just seems like a bad coincidence” Klaus tried to get in front of Ben without it looking like he was. He didn’t think Ben could help out even if he wanted to in his current state. And although Klaus’ legs felt heavier, he could still keep track of which side was up, which was more than Ben could say.

“What the fuck do you mean coincidence fag?” the one who held the joint asked, and Klaus could tell he was on some other kind of drug, his eyes bloodshot and pupils blown wide.

“Now, now no need to be rude, come on, you got your lighter back” Klaus took another step forward, keeping the focus on him and not on his brother, who seemed to be gripping the gravestone for dear life.

“You think I give a fuck about this fucking thing? Where the fuck is the rest of it?” He got up close and personal to Klaus’ face and his breath reeked of cheap beer.

“What rest of it?” Klaus tried to not look guilty as he thought back to the pills they had flushed down the toilet.

He saw the second guy walk over closer to Ben and before he could move closer to try to help him, a hand shot out and grabbed onto the front of his shirt. He only just managed to block the punch to his face; damn the joint had clearly messed with his reflexes. He ducked the second punch to his face, but was unable to block the punch to his stomach.

As Klaus doubled over, the air rushing out of his body with a gasp, Ben tried to rush over to help. The guy closest to him shoved him to the side. Ben only just caught himself.

Klaus coughed and gasped, “Leave him alone.”

“Answer the fucking question fag” the one in front of him said, looking down at Klaus.

Klaus met his brother’s eyes, trying to see if Ben could run away, but the way his legs were shaking, he wouldn’t be able to get very far.

“Answer him!” the one closest to Ben took another step towards Ben.

“Okay Okay! I flushed them okay?” Klaus was looking at his brother as he answered, trying to tell Ben to run with his eyes, but before either of them could react, Ben was shoved once more and Klaus kicked on his side.

The force of the shove sent Ben off his feet and he could not brace himself as he struck the gravestone head first, blacking out instantly.

The kick Klaus received sent him to his side where he saw his brother slam his head and fall as a dead weight. He can’t be dead, not dead, he just blacked out, he just blacked out, he is hard headed, no small bump would kill him, he can’t be dead’ Klaus repeated the mantra in his head over and over.

He turned back to his attacker, seeing red. They should not have pissed him off. They should not have underestimated him. But most of all, they should not have touched his brother.  
Both of them attacked Klaus, but he gave as hard as he got. He pushed one of them, the one who didn’t own the lighter, off to the side with a kick to the side, before punching the other one in the ear. He was bloody and hurting, but he was protective more than anything else. He would not let them lay a hand on Ben. He was about to kick the owner of the lighter in the head when he heard,

“ENOUGH!” 

The guy who pushed Ben was now standing over Ben, and he had a knife. Klaus quickly held up his hands as he saw the light reflect off the knife. It was not a very large knife, but Klaus was not about to put his brother at risk, not when he could do nothing to defend himself.

Klaus was tackled to the ground and instantly punched everywhere within reach. He felt his lips split open as he was backhanded, his ribs protest as he was punched, and his head spin as a hit connected to his temple. He must have blacked out for a second because before he knew it, there were kicks landing, on his chest, his side, his back, everywhere. He tried to curl up to protect himself from the blows that seemed to be never ending. 

“Not so fucking brave now are you?” the voice above him was out of breath. Klaus wished he had enough breath left in him to tell him to fuck off.

“Come on Bryce, that’s enough, you’re going to kill him” the other voice seemed more distant, that must have come from the asshole holding Ben at knife point.

“This fucking fag flushed my stash Trey, do you have any fucking idea how much that cost? How much I need it? I won’t fucking get any fucking more this fucking month!” Bryce answered. “This fag is gonna pay one way or another.”

“He did already man, look at him” Trey tried to reason.

Klaus felt more than saw, his left eye was swollen shut and his right one refused to focus, as Bryce pulled out his own knife. 

“Fucking move and your faggy boyfriend gets it” he threatened as he brought the knife close to Klaus’ face.

His face was close enough that Klaus could see him, his right eye finally coming into focus. He was also bloodied, and Klaus felt a small sliver of pride at the fact that he could hold his own against two attackers. He did not dare to move though, as he knew Ben was still in danger. He saw Bryce look him up and down, his eyes shifting from anger to something that made Klaus’ blood run cold.

Lust.  
\----------

Ben groaned as he opened his eyes. His head was pounding and he could not see straight. He was lying down on something prickly and wet. He touched the wetness and when he focused on his hand he saw red. He reached back to his head where the pain was greatest and winced as he touched the wound. The wound, the ground, grass, gravestone. It all came rushing back to him. 

Klaus! 

He turned around to face where he had seen his brother last. The image he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Klaus was lying on the ground covered in blood, bruises, and cuts. There was so much blood around him and he looked so pale. But that wasn’t the worst of it, Klaus’ back was bare, and Ben could see where his uniform top and jacket had been cut from him. His pants were pulled down to his knees. 

And his eyes.

Oh god his eyes.

They were unstaring and blank. For a second, Ben feared the worst, that his brother had been killed without him being able to do anything, but then a tear ran off his eye and joined the tracks down his face. 

The figure next to his brother wore a satisfied smile as he tucked himself back into his pants. Ben watched as he prepared to kick his brother once more.

He saw red.

Ben was not a violent person, nor did he like the Horror that rested within him, but at that moment he was furious and he wanted blood.

The Horror shot out of him without a thought, craving blood and vengeance as much as he did. Bryn was grabbed by each of his limbs and around his neck, suspended in the air and being pulled to just before his limbs dislocated. Ben saw the other one start to run and tripped him, his face slamming into the ground with a satisfying slam. A tendril grasping hold of his ankle.

“Please, I told him to stop, I begged him not to do it!” Trey wept and begged for his life. “I can go get help”.

Ben turned to look at him; he seemed to be bloodied, and not just from the clearly broken nose. This asshole had clearly fought Klaus and had gotten more than a few hits. Not to mention he had pushed 

Ben which knocked him out.

“Did you hurt my brother?” Ben could hardly recognize the cold voice that came out of his mouth.

“Y-y-yes” Trey answered, and Ben saw as he wet himself in fear.

“Did you not shove me so I could not help my brother?”

“We never would have if we’d known you were part of the academy, please!” 

Ben turned to look at his brother once more; Klaus was still unresponsive on the ground. With a thought, the tendril around Trey’s leg squeezed tight, breaking the bones in his ankle. Then he turned to Bryce and without even blinking pulled enough to dislocate all of the limbs from his body. The one around his neck not allowing him to scream. Then he kept pulling, and pulling. There was no satisfaction in ridding the world of a piece of scum like him. Like killing a cockroach. He saw as one body became five pieces then twisted to break the neck. It was better than he deserved, but Ben did not want to touch the filth anymore.

Trey screamed in pain and panic as he watched.

“Go to the Umbrella Academy and get help NOW!” Ben said coldly, not caring that Trey was limping and could barely walk.

He approached Klaus slowly, getting in front of his face. “Klaus?” gone was the cold emotionless voice and it its place was a soft comforting voice.

Klaus was unresponsive until Ben tried to touch him. Then he flinched back from the touch. Klaus could see nothing, everything was pain and misery. As if from afar, he started to hear a voice, not a rough voice yelling insults in his ear, but a well-known comforting one. 

“Ben?” a soft whisper left Klaus’ lips as he took in the voice. He groaned as all the pain seemed to hit him at once all over again.

“Don’t try to move, the others will be here to help soon” Ben said, hands hovering over his brother, but not willing to touch him as it would cause more pain. 

Klaus took in the words and their meaning. The others were coming. Others? The rest of the academy. They could never know. No one should know. He looked down at his bare chest and winced in more than just pain. He was bleeding all over and every move and breath hurt, but they couldn’t know.

He tried to feel for his pants, breath hitching as he felt them bellow his knees. No no no no.

He turned over to his side, muffling a scream as he did. 

“What are you doing Klaus!? Don’t move!” Ben said wanting to help but not knowing how.

Klaus flinched at the loud voice and curled in on himself, his breath coming out in rattling breaths. Broken ribs, fun.

“Pants” Was all he could get out. “Help”.

Ben looked at his brother, knowing what Klaus was asking. “Klaus you shouldn’t be moving at all”.

Klaus only looked at him with his one open eye pleading, “Others. Pants. Please.”

Ben nodded and moved to help, pretending not to notice how Klaus flinched when he touched him anywhere. Between the two, they got Klaus’s pants back into place, they were cut up and bloody, the cuts matching nicks in Klaus’s legs. 

“No. one. finds. out.” Klaus said between gritted teeth.

“Klaus you-”

“No. One.” Klaus insisted. It wasn’t a question. “Swear.”

“I-”

“Swear.”  
Ben sighed, “I swear.” 

Klaus nodded once then, eyes rolling to the back of his head, he passed out. Like a puppet with its strings cut, he was a dead-weight straight into Ben’s arms.

Ben looked at his brother sadly. He was light enough that Ben could probably have carried him back to the academy, but he was still seeing double. Ben doubted it was because of the joint now, and blamed the head injury. Still if it hadn’t been for that joint, Ben could have protected Klaus. If his head hadn’t been spinning, he could have beaten, if not killed, the other two in a second. Something shinny caught his eye above his brother’s head, it was the lighter. 

As Ben held onto his brother and waited for help to come, he made an oath to himself. Never again would he let himself be altered by any drugs. Never again would he let his family suffer because he was not in his senses. He would never touch any drug ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will tell the events from the sibling's POV. Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has read and left Kudos! I really and truly appreciate all of the support! as always feedback is appreciated. I am not a medical professional, therefore I apologize for any medical inaccuracies.   
> Also I do not agree with not getting help after traumatic events happen, if you need help, please get it, there are many many qualified people who are more than willing to help out! Please get help if you need it. you can even text now if you can't/ don't want to talk! Text CONNECT to 741741 to chat with a trained Crisis Counselor 24/7.

Chapter 5

 

It wasn’t often that they got an entire afternoon to themselves, and when they did, the siblings liked to watch movies. Usually Luther demanded first pick, as he was always keen to remind them that he was number one. There were only so many times one could watch Apollo 13, so no one was surprised when halfway through, Ben and Klaus went to their rooms. They loved to hang out together, and maybe they would be back later, when it was Klaus’ turn to pick the movie. 

Diego had picked the matrix, which at least more of them liked. They were nearing the end of the movie, Allison trying to figure out which movie she was going to choose. She figured she could get the boys back by picking a romantic comedy, she was leaning towards Miss Congeniality, that way at least there was some action so the boys wouldn’t protest so much. 

Vanya had gotten up to get something more to drink, when the doorbell rang. Once, twice, three times, then incessantly.

They all frowned and Diego paused the movie. Who the hell was at the door?

Vanya was the closest to the door, but they all slowly got up, trying to figure out who was trying to break their door. Banging on the door and ringing the doorbell.

When Vanya reached the door and pulled it open, a young guy, bloodied and out of breath almost fell into her and she screamed. This pushed all of them to rush to her side, Luther reaching them first and pulling the guy from Vanya. 

“Woah there, are you okay? What’s your name? Do you need help?” he said trying to get the guy to focus. He appeared to be in shock, opening his mouth and closing it with no words coming out.

“Hey!” Diego snapped a finger in front of his face. 

“Maybe we should call an ambulance” Vanya suggested, noticing that the guy seemed to have injured his leg and foot quite badly. “Or maybe the police.”

This snapped Trey back, “n-no, no police. Your brothers, they-” he started to hyperventilate. 

Luther tuned to look at Allison, a worried expression crossing his face as he heard the stranger mention his brothers. He motioned with his head to the stranger and Allison nodded.

“I heard a rumor that you calmed down and told us why you were here”

They all saw the rumor take hold and his breath calmed down so he could speak.

“Your brothers need help. They’re at the cemetery across the street, on the back part near, away from all the mausoleums. They need help. Oh god there was so much blood, and then he got torn apart. He took it too far. We were just going to scare them, maybe beat them up a little bit, but it went too far. And now Bryce is gone.” He seemed to be rambling now. Both in fear and shock. 

All of the siblings exchanged glances. With a blue flash, Five was gone. They all turned to run to their brothers. Allison held back for a second.

“I heard a rumor you shut up, stayed where you are, and no one noticed you.”

Then she ran out the door. ‘Torn apart? Took it too far?’ what did that mean? Either way her brothers needed them.

 

\---

 

Ben was starting to wonder if he should just risk carrying Klaus himself when Five appeared with a flash.

“Ben- oh fuck- Klaus!” he dropped to his knees in front of his brother. “what the fuck happened here?” he looked at his brothers and at the bloody mess all around.

Ben looked up at his brother, trying to figure out which one of the two Fives was the real one. 

“We got attacked, they got the drop on me and I hit my head and blacked out. Woke up to Klaus like this” it wasn’t a whole lie, but also not the full truth. “he needs help Five, urgently.”

“Did he do that?” he pointed to the pieces left of Bryce.

“Help Five! Now!” Ben insisted, not caring to look at anything other than his brother. He didn’t care how desperate he sounded; Klaus was getting colder and losing more blood by the second.

“The others are coming; I’ll go ahead and prep the infirmary with mom” Five turned and saw the others by the gate. He waved them over, and disappeared again. 

The rest of the siblings were shocked by the scene. Blood was everywhere. But nowhere was it more horrible to see than it pouring out of their brother. He was a mess. Bruises were already forming on his body, cuts were all over his back and arms. He was black and blue all over and if it wasn’t for the rattling breaths coming out of him, they would have thought him dead. As it was, his chest didn’t rise evenly, a clear sign of broken ribs.

Vanya held back the urge to gag as she caught side of what used to be a person, but was now in pieces. The others were more used to the aftermath of the horror, but still had to push down the nausea as they took in the scene.

“Help him” Ben whispered as he looked up to his siblings. 

They moved closer and closer, the closer they got, the more damage they saw in Klaus. 

Luther bent down to reach out to Klaus and Ben tightened his hold. Luther tried to get Ben to look at him, but he had difficulty focusing his eyes. Luther figured it had something to do with the blood on his brother’s face. Running down one side of his face and coming from somewhere under his hairline. 

“Ben, let me take him. I’ll get him home to mom.” Luther tried to sound calm and collected, two things he was nowhere near feeling. 

Ben looked up at him then at his siblings and slowly released his hold on Klaus. Luther moved slowly, not wanting to startle his brother any more than he already had. Luther tried to figure out how to carry Klaus without causing more damage. He was hurt everywhere. He reached behind his back and under his knees and lifted. It always startled Luther how light Klaus was. He was tall, but so thin, so so thin. Luther lifted him up as carefully as he could, but even unconscious, Klaus whimpered as he was carried. 

Ben felt more than saw one tendril of the Horror come out as he heard the whimper from his brother. 

“Ben, Luther is helping him, we have to get him out of here. Calm down” Vanya begged him.

“Be careful” Ben said to Luther, but let the Horror withdraw back into him. 

Luther nodded and turned to make his way to the house.

Diego and Vanya helped Ben to his feet and supported him back to the house. As they neared the entrance, they saw Five there with mom and Pogo, a stretcher waiting for Klaus. 

“Oh my darling” Mom said as she caught sight of Klaus. 

Luther lowered him onto the stretcher, Klaus whimpering more as he was shifted once more. Ben was placed on the end of the stretcher and they rolled to the infirmary.

They all followed except Allison, who, because of the rumor, was the only one who saw the bleeding, crying stranger in her home. She made her way over to him and containing her rage said,

“I heard a rumor you told me everything that happened.”

 

\---

 

As Mom and Pogo helped Klaus, Ben was taken care of by his siblings. They had faced him towards Klaus to avoid any incident. Ben was being extremely protective of their brother. They had tried to separate them to treat them individually, but Ben had started to hyperventilate and only calmed down when he saw Klaus again. 

Mom and Pogo had started with x-rays to see what kind of damage Klaus had received. While they got those, Ben had gotten stitched up. Even Diego had stayed by his side and held his hand though the process. Vanya was the one with the most first aid training and had the steadiest hands and took care of him in no time. 

“Children, please leave us.” Pogo said in a kind voice that tried to mask the deep worry he felt.

“What?” “No we can help” “Why?” they all protested.

“There are too many people in here and we will need room to work on your brother” their mother said.

“But-”

“Now children, your brother is in bad shape. We need to help him with no distractions.” Pogo insisted, leading them all out, all except Ben. Pogo turned to look at him.

“I’m not leaving him”

Pogo sighed sadly turned back to the others, “We will come get you when we know more.”

They nodded and made their way back up to the living room. They saw Allison there, who was silently crying.

“Where’s the asshole that did this?” Diego asked, looking around for the guy who had knocked on the door.

“I took care of it” Allison’s voice was flat and though tears still ran from her face, she looked more pissed than sad.

“Pogo said he would come get us when they know more” Luther told her, she nodded.

They all sat down in silence, not talking, each lost to their own little world, thinking about their brother.

 

\---

 

Ben watched over as mom and Pogo worked on his brother. He had eight broken ribs, four cracked, hairline fractures on his head, nose, tibia, femur, a broken wrist, and shattered radius and ulna. He was also covered in lacerations done by a knife all over his body and hands and arms; he had fought back and tried to defend himself. His kidneys had gotten injured by the kicks as well as his liver. He had lost a lot of blood, and was bruised all over. But Ben knew that wasn’t why his siblings were sent away. It was the blood that had dripped down his legs that couldn’t be explained by a cut. It was the reason Ben had destroyed Bryce. It was the rape. Klaus had been raped. 

He watched as mom treated the injuries, all the injuries, with a practiced touch, gentle and competent. They had hooked Klaus into an IV line and had sedated him and Ben was glad they had. It had broken his heart to hear the whimpers coming from Klaus with every step Luther took. He had tried to be as gentle as possible, and even though Klaus was unconscious, he was so hurt. Klaus was still, he was never still. In sleep, he tossed and turned, fighting nightmares and ghosts, and during the day he was always a ball of energy. Seeing him now, so thin, so small, so still, and so so hurt; it made Ben’s heart clench. 

He felt something wet land on his right hand, then something on his left. He was crying. 

“He will recover, Master Ben. If we know anything about Master Klaus is that he is resilient.” Pogo told him from the other side of the room. “He has lost a lot of blood though, I do not believe what we have saved here will be enough.”

Without a hesitation, Ben took off his jacket, presenting it to mom to take as much as they needed. He would give it all if it meant his brother would get better. 

After the transfusion started, Ben heard the door opening. He glanced up from where he had been holding Klaus’ hand at her.

“Miss Allison, I really don’t think-”

“I heard a rumor you let me stay in here”

“Of course Miss Allison.” Pogo turned back to Klaus, finishing up one of the last cuts that needed stitches.

“Oh my god, Klaus” Allison rushed to her brother, seeing the extent of the damage he had endured. It somehow looked worse now than it did when it was covered in blood.

“He will be all right darling, he’s very strong.” Mom said as she put the last layers of plaster on Klaus’ arm. “It’s not the first time he has been seriously injured, and he has pulled through before, he will again.”

Allison turned to look at mom, “He’s never had to endure what was done to him. No one ever should endure that.”

Ben’s head turned to her so fast, she heard his neck pop. “What do you mean Allison?”

Allison came closer and placed her hand above Ben’s who was holding Klaus’. Tears streamed down her face. “I know.”

Ben’s face shattered, he had sworn no one would ever know. He started to cry as well. He had failed Klaus again.

“How could you know? I swore- I swore no one would know” he shook his head fervently. 

“I rumored Trey. He told me everything. I am so sorry Ben, we should have been there.” Allison tried to hug Ben, but he shot up to his feet before she could wrap her arms around him.

“No! No one was supposed to know. Now you know and mom and Pogo know.” He turned to her with wide eyes, “You didn’t tell the rest of them right? Please tell me you didn’t tell them!”

Allison shook her head, “I didn’t tell them, but I think they should know Ben. Klaus is going to need our help if he wants to get through this.”

“He begged me not to tell anyone. He made me swear. Only once I swore did he let himself pass out. He was in so much pain Allison, but all he cared about was that no one knew. He made me swear.” Ben stood on unsteady legs, staring at his brother, tears running down his face. 

Allison reached out to him slowly, grabbing onto him as he started to sway. “Here, sit back down Ben, please.” She pushed him into the chair next to the bed again. He tangled his hand in Klaus’. Allison could only cry as she heard him mumble apologies to their brother. 

“You didn’t fail him Ben, please.”

“I wasn’t conscious Allison. I couldn’t even help him. I should have helped him. I could have done something.”

“When you passed out, Trey pulled a knife on you. He told me Klaus stopped fighting back when he saw the knife.”

“Where is Trey?” Ben’s voice was as cold and hard as steel. Allison could see the need to avenge their brother in his eyes.

“I sent him to the police. He will confess to everything and will be found guilty. I made sure of that.” Allison saw the fear in Ben’s eyes, “No names will be mentioned Ben. And they will charge him with everything.” His shoulders fell in relief at her words, but the guilt he felt, she saw, still weighed him down.

“Ben, Klaus loves you. He put his life on the line for you as you would for him. If you could, I know you would switch places with him without a thought.”

“Miss Allison is right Master Ben. Master Klaus loves you dearly; he would not have you blaming yourself for something out of your control.” Pogo said, stepping into the conversation.

Ben wiped the tears from his face and turned to Allison. “Control.”

“No Ben, I can’t” Allison knew what he was asking.

“You have to. I know what Klaus has been through and you do as well. We can help him. But no one else knows. No one else can know, Allison. Just imagine what father would do if he knew.” Ben pleaded with his sister, hoping she would see reason.

“I would never tell him!” She cried out in outrage.

“Not talking about you.” He responded, motioning to mom and Pogo.

“Now children, Klaus’ recovery will take more than you two can provide.” Mom tried to reason.

Ben pulled Allison close and whispered, “Their first loyalty is to dad, you have to. Please.”

Allison turned back to mom and Pogo. She knew what Ben said was true. When push came to shove, Mom was programed and Pogo created by their father. Their loyalty would always go to him before anyone else. Reginald Hargreeves was anything but parental. He would have no mercy and no compassion towards Klaus. He only showed the brief consideration to let them heal in the past enough to not cause further damage. Allison knew from experience how much he pushed, even when his children were ill or just recovered from an injury. She had to protect Klaus the only way she could.

“Mom, Pogo, I heard a rumor that you don’t know Klaus was-” She had to swallow before getting the word out, “raped. You don’t know it happened and you can’t tell anyone else it happened.”

Allison saw the rumor take hold. Ben relaxed next to her and pulled her into a hug, breathing words of thanks into her hair as they both wept for their brother.

“Now, Now Children, Klaus is all bandaged up. Why don’t go tell your brothers and sister that he is out of immediate danger. We will keep a close eye on him tonight.” Grace led Allison to the living room,   
Diego, Luther, and Vanya jumping to their feet as soon as they heard them approach.

“How is he?” Luther and Vanya asked.

“Will he b-be o-o-okay?” Diego’s stutter always came back when he was nervous.

“He is stable for now.” Grace said as she placed a hand on Diego’s face. 

“Can we see him?” Vanya asked hopefully.

Mom smiled at her and nodded, leading the way back to the infirmary.

Ben had not moved from his spot next to Klaus, still holding his hand. As the rest of the siblings approached they saw how broken their brothers were. Klaus in body and Ben in spirit. 

Klaus was covered in bandages, his arm and leg in a cast, and the wrap around his ribs poking out of the blanket on top of his thin frame. He looked so pale and fragile, Luther was afraid to touch him. 

Diego settled at the foot of the bed and held onto the foot not in a cast. Vanya went over to the other side of the bed and stroked his hair, something Klaus loved done to him. Allison took the other hand and they all settled together around Klaus. 

The moment was broken, when they heard footsteps approaching the infirmary. Familiar footsteps. Footsteps from the only other person who lived in the house who was not currently in the room.

Reginald Hargreeves.

“What is going on in here? Explain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also realized I had been spelling Allison's name wrong soooooo Fixed it! oops!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite short, but I wanted to upload something because its been so long! I think this story will only be one more chapter! Thank you very much to everyone who has read and left kudos and comments! enjoy!

Chapter 6

No one moved, no one breathed, except for Klaus who was thankfully blissfully unconscious. Their father looked at them with cold eyes, waiting for them to explain what had happened.

“Well? I will not repeat myself.” He focused his attention on the one person who wouldn’t dare disobey a direct order: Luther.

“Er, sir, what happened was-” Luther began.

“It was my fault” Ben interrupted before Luther could try to give an answer he did not know.

“How so Number Six?” with his father’s judgmental gaze upon him, Ben felt the air leave his lungs and his mouth go dry. He swallowed.

“I made Klaus go outside with me and we were attacked.” Simple explanation, not really a lie.

“Am I to understand that two members of the Umbrella Academy were unable to defend themselves against simple criminals?” Ben’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to come up with an answer that wouldn’t get him and Klaus into more trouble.

“If I may, sir?” Allison cut in, “I rumored one of the criminals and found out the whole story. The two criminals were under the influence of drugs, they caught Klaus and Ben unawares. They pushed Ben into a gravestone which caused him to back out. Afterwards, Klaus fought them off as well as he could single handed and did a lot of damage, based on the wounds we saw on the criminal. He was unable to continue as one of the two pulled a knife and threatened to hurt Ben. Klaus stopped fighting at this point. He was beaten severely and-” she swallowed the lump in her throat. 

“And when I wore up, I used my powers and overcame them.” Ben finished for her.

Reginald looked at Ben and Allison for a moment, then walked over to Klaus’ unconscious form. Ben stepped forward as their father reached out to touch him. The rest of the siblings stared at their father, thinking, just for a moment, that he would comfort Klaus. Instead, he took stock of the bruised and cuts on Klaus’s body. He nodded.

“Based on the damage, he does appear to have defended himself adequately against two opponents. However, all of you will need to work on disarming defense, as clearly there is technique lacking.”

There was nothing any of them could answer to that, so they all simply looked at the floor and avoided their father’s gaze. 

“We will begin with that training once the casts come off.”

No one was really surprised by the lack of affection and compassion. Their father was hardly the affectionate type, and had never shown much concern when any of them had gotten injured in missions in the past. They would have been more surprised if their father actually showed concern. In a strange way, the way he treated this incident as a mere inconvenience, was oddly comforting. 

“How did the meeting go sir?” mom asked as she broke the deafening silence. 

He shook his head, looking away from Klaus, “Dead end, turns out the child could just read body language quite well. Did not pass any test I put before it. Not academy material.” 

And that was that. 

“I expect all of you at training tomorrow. Get to bed on time.” 

Ben was about to protest that he would not leave Klaus alone, but mom beat him to the punch.

“Sir, Ben received a concussion from the blow to his head, it would be advisable to keep him under observation for at least a couple of days before exerting him.”

Their father raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Ben, taking in the bandage around his head and his uneven pupils. 

“Fine” 

And with that, he turned and headed to his office, not giving any of them a second look. 

All of the siblings gave sigh of relief as they heard their father’s study door close. He wouldn’t check on them again that night, which was a good thing, as none of them were willing to leave until they saw Klaus wake up. He was getting pain medication, and he had been sedated while Pogo and mom treated all of his injuries, but the prolonged unconsciousness was making all of them anxious.

Klaus was always moving, talking, dancing, and bouncing off the walls. To see him still, only his chest slightly rising was agonizing. They all settled around him, waiting and hoping for him to wake up soon.

\---

Darkness, darkness all around. He didn’t think he was fond of the dark, yet here he was perfectly content in this void of everything. He should be afraid, he should be panicking, he should be concerned at the lack of panic, and instead he just was. It was nice, to just exist, nothing to worry him, nothing to care about. He thought about thinking about caring, but why bother? The calm was here, it didn’t expect anything.

Where was he? How did he get here? Should he care? 

He felt a slight tug to a thought, a presence, someone who was at his side. Who was it?

Something important had happened. What was it?

He was getting closer to an answer, he felt pain, and pain wasn’t nice. The darkness meant there was no pain, he should go back there. 

He did. 

Was time going by? Did it stand still? Was the darkness permanent? He felt another tug.

He wanted to follow it, but there was pain there. So much pain. Why was there pain? Where was there? The tug got stronger.

He was supposed to be somewhere he thought, but where? He pushed past the darkness and dove headfirst into the pain. 

He was unaware of anything except pain for a moment and wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back into the darkness, but there was a voice calling out to him.

“Come on Klaus, that’s it, come back to us”

The voice was calm and warm, he tried to focus on it, but breathing hurt. Why was everything so painful?

Ben watched as Klaus slowly seemed to wake up, eyes moving under his eyelids and his face scrunching up in pain. His breaths were shallow and sounded painful. Still, he wanted his brother to come back; he needed to be sure he was still there. That he was alive.

They had all moved closer to Klaus as they saw him waking up. Finally, Klaus opened his eye; the other was still too swollen to be fully open. He looked confused. Ben watched as he took in his surroundings, trying to piece together how he had gotten there. He finally turned his gaze to Ben.

Klaus turned from painfully confused to a blank mask as he remembered what had happened. The change so sudden and drastic, the rest of the siblings thought he was about to pass out again. Before 

Ben could warn Luther not to, Luther reached out to Klaus, to comfort him or focus him, Ben wasn’t sure. 

Klaus’ response startled all of them; he flinched away from the touch, a gasp of pain leaving his body as he tried to avoid being touched. Luther, thinking that Klaus was unaware of where he was, took another step forward towards Klaus. 

“Luther don’t!” Ben whispered, but it was too late.

Klaus tried to scurry away from the touch, not realizing he was on a gurney, and fell off the edge. He tried to scream in pain, but there was no breath in his lungs. He could fell something cave inside his chest, then he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was under water, trying and failing to get a breath.

They all watched him fall, expressions shocked. They rushed to help him, but Ben felt the Horror tear from him and push them all back, all except for the only person who could help, mom.

She rushed forward and fell on her knees next to Klaus, ignoring how he flinched away from her touch. She had a sedative in her hand and didn’t hesitate to plunge it into her son. Ben watched as Klaus fell limply into her arms as it took effect. Klaus coughed and a small amount of blood fell from his mouth. 

“Children please leave, I fear Klaus may have punctured a lung with that fall” she said, picking Klaus off the floor and into her arms as if he weighed nothing. They all left the room, knowing they would only be in the way of the procedure. 

Ben left the room but stood watching the door; he felt his legs give and sat down, staring at the wall.

“What was that?” Luther asked shaken by the violent reaction he received from his brother.

“What were you thinking Luther?” Allison asked him, “He was violently beaten.” 

‘and so much more’ Ben thought sadly, he pulled his legs close to his body and felt tears leaving his eyes without realizing he was crying. 

“He’s going to be okay though right?” Vanya’s voice was small and full of doubt.

“Mom and Pogo are with him. They will do everything they can for Kl-k-k- for h-him” Diego started strong, but stuttered as he thought of his brother, Klaus should never be that scared.

Ben looked at Allison and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

‘But is it enough?’


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains homophobic language and violence.If you need help, please get it, there are many many qualified people who are more than willing to help out! Please get help if you need it. you can even text now if you can't/ don't want to talk! Text CONNECT to 741741 to chat with a trained Crisis Counselor 24/7. And finally thank you to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos so far!

Chapter 7  
Ben was worried. 

It wasn’t just that Klaus had to be kept sedated for the first few days after he tried to pull the tube from his chest. It wasn’t just the infection that took over after the fall had torn some of the stitches open from the many wounds on his body. It wasn’t just that Klaus had to be dunked into cold water to prevent his fever from burning him from the inside out. It’s what came after all of that. 

Klaus was quiet, jumpy, and emotionless. It was very strange for all of them to see Klaus behave like that, like a robot. 

Since Klaus had gotten so injured, he was not allowed to do any physical training, but he was still expected to attend the sessions and watch as all of them trained. Their father would ask him questions and Klaus would respond in a monotone voice. No sarcasm, no sass, no emotion whatsoever. 

“I am glad this experience had a positive effect on you Number Four.” His father commented after a training session, “It was about time you grew up. I am relieved the teenage rebellion is over.” He nodded at Klaus and walked away.

For a second, Klaus looked as if he were about to cry, he looked shattered, but when their eyes met, he was back to being a blank face, like a mask.

Everyone but Ben and Allison chalked his new temperament, or lack thereof, to having faced a traumatic beating, that and him having to fight for both his and Ben’s life. But Ben and Allison knew better. 

Allison had sneaked into the infirmary to look at the results of the tests that Pogo and Mom had done on Klaus, but were not allowed to know about after the rumor. She was relieved to know that in all of the horrible news there was at least a glimmer of hope, Klaus was clean. No STIs were transmitted from the event. She told Ben, because Klaus still didn’t know that she knew. Ben had pulled Klaus aside and told him, all he got was a nod before Klaus walked away to take a bath. 

Ben could tell Klaus was in pain physically and mentally, but he refused to talk about it. The only person he would respond to was their father, and that was more out of a sense of self preservation, rather than a want to communicate. He knew his father couldn’t physically punish him until he was healed, but that wouldn’t stop him from locking him in that mausoleum. 

It wasn’t only the detachedness that worried Ben; it was also how little Klaus touched anyone now. He had always been a very tactile and affectionate person before, always reaching out to hug, pat, or kiss their siblings for any or no reason at all. Now he flinched whenever anyone approached him.

“Don’t be a baby Klaus; you know we won’t hurt you.” Luther scoffed when Klaus flinched as he reached for the butter dish in front of him. 

Instead of responding, Klaus lowered his eyes, tucked his chin to his chest, and played with the food in his plate for the rest of the dinner. 

At nights, Klaus had nightmares, which wasn’t something new, but now he dreamt of the cemetery, of being helpless as he was attacked, of the terrible whispers into his ear as he was defiled. He was at least glad that the pain meds kept the ghosts at bay, he wouldn’t know what to do if he actually had to see his attacker again. 

Ben tried to go into Klaus’ room when he heard Klaus mumble and whimper at night, but Klaus had started to lock his bedroom door. 

Ben was worried.

\---

The breaking point came a month after the incident. Once mom and Pogo determined that strong pain meds we no longer necessary. Klaus could still take some pain medication for his ribs and healing fractures, but they could be over the counter ones.

When mom approached him during breakfast without his usual medicine, he looked up at her, a small question in his eyes.

“Here you go dearest,” she said as she placed two ibuprofen before him, “we wouldn’t want you to become addicted to those other ones. Your body is healing slowly, so some discomfort and pain is still expected. These will help with that.”

She smiled at him encouragingly, and watched as he took them without any response. 

Ben noticed the change first; he was looking for it after all. At dinner, Klaus’s impassive mask slipped off and in its place were a fear and a panic. Klaus got twitchy and he would shift his head away from the voices. He barely touched his dinner for the rest of the meal. Mom came over with more ibuprofen and Klaus took it again. After dinner, he went into his room.

Ben followed him, knowing what the lack of strong medication meant. The ghosts would be back.

He knocked on the door, once more finding it locked. 

“Klaus? Please let me in” he figured asking nicely once was the polite thing to do. When he got no response, he pulled a pin from his pocket and opened the door, for once grateful that their father didn’t allow proper locking doorknobs in their rooms. 

He found Klaus curled into himself on his bed. It couldn’t be comfortable on his ribs, but Ben knew he would rather focus on the pain in his ribs than on the beings around him.

“Go away Ben” Klaus’ voice was soft and raspy, he hadn’t been using it much these days. 

“No” Ben said coming closer to Klaus. “I don’t want you to be alone.”

A sad scoff left Klaus, “Oh trust me, I’m not.”

“That’s what scares me.” Ben slowly approached the bed. “When did they come back?”

Klaus sighed and scooted further into the bed, giving Ben some room to sit on the bed. This was the most open Klaus had been to someone being close to him since it happened.

“Voices came back around lunch time and the first ghostie guest arrived before dinner. They’re not too happy they have been ignored for a while.” If Klaus’ voice wasn’t so monotonous, Ben would have smiled at the words coming out of his brother’s mouth. As it was it just made Ben feel sad. 

“Anyone in particular?” Ben didn’t want to ask if Bryce had made an appearance yet, but knew that it was mostly people who died from violent deaths tormented his brother, and Bryce’s death definitely qualified as one. 

Klaus shrugged one shoulder and curled further into himself, wincing as he did. 

“I’m sorry Klaus.” Ben said as he sat down next to his brother. He would usually try running his hands through his hair or offer to paint his nails, but Klaus was a shell now. He didn’t know how to help comfort him anymore. 

“Not your fault, no one’s really.” Klaus shifted a bit to cover his ear with his one good arm; Pressing deeper into the pillow on the other side. 

Ben spotted a book on the corner of the room and went over to pick it up, “Want me to read to you for a bit?”

Klaus closed his eyes and gave him a slight nod, not relaxing in the slightest. Ben read to him for a while, noticing that Klaus relaxed a bit after a couple of chapters. After about 5 chapters, Klaus’ breathing evened out and he slipped into unconsciousness. Ben saved the page where he left off and put the book down, looking at his brother. 

Most of the bruises had finally faded, but his ribs would take at least a few more weeks to be fully healed. He still had a cast on his arm; the one on his leg had been taken off earlier that week. He had gotten even thinner if possible since the incident, Ben hardy saw him eating the food, he mostly pushed it around his plate to make it seem like he had eaten. His face was gaunt and his eyes almost looked sunken into the dark circles under them. Ben knew about the nightmares, it was hard not to when Klaus woke up screaming in panic. 

Almost as if summoned, Klaus tensed up and curled into himself.

“No, no, please, not Ben, please stop it.” Klaus mumbled as he fought the demons in his nightmare. He tossed and turned trying to fight them off physically. Ben worried he would hurt himself, but did not want to reach out and touch Klaus. The last time someone had tried that, Klaus had fallen off the bed and hurt himself further. 

“Klaus!” Ben tried to get him to wake up with just his voice.

“No! shut up!” Klaus screamed still bound inside his nightmare.

“KLAUS!” Ben jumped off the bed and tried to shake it, hoping the movement would wake his brother up.

Ben’s eyes widened as he saw a blueish light cover his brother’s hands. What was going on?

Finally Klaus shot up in bed, gasping as though to scream, but the sudden movement caused him so much discomfort, he could only groan out in pain.

“Klaus, breathe, slowly there you go.” Ben tried to comfort his brother though the clearly painful spasms that ran through his body. He knelt beside the bed, reaching out to Klaus but not touching him. 

Once his breathing went back to normal, Klaus looked over to Ben. His eyes widened in fear, Bryce was standing over his brother. 

“NO!” Klaus shoved Ben out of the way and jumped to his feet, standing with his arms spread wide as if to shield his brother from harm.

“Klaus what is it?” Ben asked, trying to get back onto his feet, but Klaus shielding him kept him from fully incorporating himself.

“You won’t get him” Klaus spoke to the air in front of him, and although Ben couldn’t see who he was talking to, he knew who it was based on the violent reaction from Klaus.

“Klaus, he can’t hurt me” Ben tried to reason with his brother. “He’s a ghost.”

Klaus shook his head and stood strong. As Ben watched, the glow around his hands appeared once more and suddenly, Bryce was there. He was also covered in a blue glow, but Ben could both see and hear him. 

It was terrifying to watch.

He was covered in blood, his head at an odd angle from where his neck had gotten snapped. His limbs weren’t fully attached, but he somehow stood in front of his brother. He was screaming at Klaus, and for a brief moment, Ben knew what it meant to have Klaus’ power.

‘I will rip him apart like he did me. You think just because I’m dead you’re safe? You’re my little bitch pretty boy. You loved what I did to you. How will it feel when you see me do that to him? huh fag? Is that going to get you off? Maybe I’ll have another round with you? Last time was such a good time for me.’ Bryce’s voice never cut off, not needing to pause for breath. 

Ben watched as Klaus flinched when it spoke. Reacting as if the words were blows thrown at his body. Ben didn’t think Klaus was even aware he was making the ghost appear for others. Solely focused on keeping Ben safe.

“No, you can’t touch him.” Klaus voice was cold and steely. 

‘You want to bet? What are you gonna do fag? You’re a weak little fag.’ Bryce took a step towards them.

That one step pushed Klaus into action. He screamed and the glow around his hands grew more and more. Ben watched as it took over the rest of the room and suddenly they weren’t alone. All around the room, Ben watched as more ghosts appeared. They were of all ages, all sizes, and all kinds of deaths. Ben was shocked to realize that as he was reading to his brother there had apparently been at least ten other voices his brother had to deal with. 

Suddenly he could hear all of them, see all of them; it was overwhelming. How did Klaus do this every day? 

“No one is touching him!” Klaus shouted, full attention still on Bryce, though the room was surrounded by ghosts. The glow surrounding all the ghosts grew brighter and brighter. Ben had to shield his eyes from the incandescent light. When the light faded enough for Ben to open his eyes again, there was only Bryce in front of him, he seemed bound, connected to the blue light coming off his brother.

‘You’re weak. You can’t do shit to me. I own you. You won’t be free of me. I’ll get your brother.” Still the taunting came out of Bryce’s mouth, though he couldn’t move. 

Klaus tilted his head at him and a smile stretched over his face, not the kind warm smile Ben was used to seeing, but a cold one. The smile of a killer.

“You won’t get a chance to try.” 

Klaus hands slowly turned from shielding Ben to facing the ghost and the ties around Bryce became tighter. When he pushed his hands into fists, he threw his head back and closed his eyes. Ben saw the ties slice into the ghost, who was still taunting him even as he was once more torn into pieces. 

Then everything was quiet.

Ben only just managed to get onto his feet in time to catch Klaus as he collapsed. He was breathing heavy, something that must not be pleasant to his still healing ribs. He started to shake in Ben’s arms and for a second, Ben thought he was having a seizure. He soon realized however, that his brother was shaking from all the energy he had just used up. 

Klaus opened his eyes and looked at his brother, 

“He’s gone. I did it.”

Then he burst into sobbing tears. 

Ben was about to start speaking when he heard something fall behind him. He turned with Klaus still in his arms to see Alisson standing on the doorway.

She had been carrying a box full of nail polish bottles, hoping to get Klaus to paint his nails with her to cheer him up. She had heard all of the commotion happening as she approached the room. She had gotten the door open in time to see Klaus collapse into Ben’s arms. She dropped the box, not caring about her favorite nail polishes smashing onto the floor, to reach her brothers.

She watched as Klaus burst into sobs and Ben held him, his eyes wide and his mouth opening and closing, seemingly trying to find words and coming out short.

“What the hell was that?” Alisson asked.

Ben could only shake his head, he had no idea. Klaus had just shown a power none of them knew he was capable of having. 

“I- I have no idea.”

Klaus cried on, starting to hyperventilate.

“Klaus, oh god, come on, breathe slowly, come on follow my breaths okay?” Alisson said holding onto his hand and holding it to her chest, hoping he would feel how she breathed.

Ben held Klaus closer and pressed his chest to Klaus’ back, matching Alisson’s breath in an attempt to get his breathing to slow down.

After a while, Klaus’ breathing became more normal, though he still cried. The sobs turned to hiccups, but still the tears flowed from his eyes.

He turned to look at Alisson.

“Please Allison. Please. I am begging you. Help me.” Klaus said looking up at her with tears running down his face. He looked so unlike himself, so miserable, so broken. 

Alisson was not sure what he was asking of her at first.

“Rumor me. Please.” Klaus begged her, “I can’t remember this. I can’t live like this.”

She turned to look at Ben, asking with no words what he thought.

“You asked how you could help him,” he said brushing some of the tears from his brother’s face, “this is how. Only you can help him.”

She nodded and gave Klaus a sad smile before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

For once Allison was not sorry to use her abilities on her brother.

“Okay Klaus” she said, looking up at Ben who nodded to her sadly. He was holding Klaus up as he didn’t even have the strength to hold himself up.

Allison sighed and braced herself. She looked at her brother and said,

“I heard a rumor; you can’t remember your first time.”

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god! this fic is finished! this was supposed to be a two chapter fic that came from a plot bunny that just wouldn't let go and it became this monster. thank you to everyone who followed me though this journey. The response I have gotten from this first ever fanfiction is more than I ever could have imagined, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! you all have encouraged me to keep on writing. you are all awesome and I thank you very very much! see you on the next one!


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